U.K.-U.S. Data Sharing Agreement – Implications For Canada

On 3 October 2019, the governments of the United States and United Kingdom signed the U.S.-U.K. Bilateral Data Access Agreement (the "Agreement"). The purpose of the Agreement is to enable more efficient and effective access to electronic data for use in criminal investigations between their respective criminal law enforcement agencies.

While the Agreement is between the U.S. and U.K., it is nonetheless important for other countries, including Canada, because it is the first agreement reached under the United States Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act ("CLOUD Act") from 2018. The CLOUD Act allows American law enforcement to compel U.S.-based technology companies via warrant or subpoena to provide requested data stored on servers regardless of whether the data is stored in the U.S. or on foreign soil, and attempts to resolve a long-running legal battle between 'big tech' and law enforcement. The U.S. is also in talks with the European Union, and Australia rega